So much for my feabled attempt at blogging on the road while traveling through Germany.  With intermittent Internet service and pure exhaustion at the end of each day, it was an impossible task.  And now, Lulu is back home and trying desperately to recover from jet lag.  My eyes start rolling into the back of my head by 8:00 each evening, and it’s beginning to really aggravate me!  I guess the older you get, the harder it is to shake the time difference.  Not that Lulu is old, per se.  Just aging.

Anyhow, I figured that at this point, a summary of my trip would be best.  There’s no need to regurgitate every last detail of my travels, because a) I would bore you, and b) I would bore you into an agonizing death.  That being said, I will summarize the trip with a list of my favorite things about Germany.

Side Note: After I finished with this summary, I realized that it was more like an anthology, so an agonizing death was still possible, in addition to bleeding eyeballs.  This is why I decided to break this post into two parts.  I’ve included pictures to help you through it.  I’ll post Part II on Monday.  You’re welcome.

MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE

This is a tough one, because everywhere that we visited was so beautiful!  But, if I had to pick, I would say Lake Königssee in the Berchtesgaden area.  This is the deepest lake in Germany, and the crystal-clear green waters are unbelievable.  We took an electric boat tour (no motor boats allowed) to the far end of the lake, and then hiked another 15 minutes over to Lake Obersee, which was just as beautiful.  And I forgot to mention that mid-way through the boat ride over, the tour guide played a song on his trumpet that echoed off the mountains.  It was amazing.

FAVORITE MEAL

By far, the best meal that I ate was salmon-trout almondine while sitting on the banks of Lake Königssee. On our boat ride, we made a stop to tour the small church of St. Bartholomä that sits on the banks of the lake and to eat at the Fischerei. 

 The salmon-trout was caught and served fresh directly from the lake.  It was a meal that I will never forget. 

I’m still coughing up the bones.

FAVORITE TOUR

While traveling, we went on six guided tours:

1) Mike’s Bike Tours through Munich with our very cute Irish tour guide, Steve-O

2) The breath-taking boat tour on Lake Königssee

3) Salt Mine tour in Berchtesgaden

4) Panorama’s The Original Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg

5) Tour of Neuschwanstein Castle

6) The creepy (but humorous) Nightwatchman Tour in Rothenburg

While they were all wonderful in their own way, I would have to say that I most enjoyed the biking tour through Munich.  Biking is such a fun way to see the city of Munich!  Our guide, Steve, was cute and funny and made things so very interesting.  And he was cute.  Half-way through the tour, we stopped in the Englischer Gardens at the Chinese Pagoda to have a beer and some brats, and we were able to get to know Steve our fellow bikers a bit better.  It was loads of fun, and Lulu didn’t even fall off her bike.  Not even after drinking a beer.  If you ever go to Munich, I highly recommend Steve this tour!

 FAVORITE PLACE IN MUNICH

Munich is such a great city.  We were only there for 2 days, but I could surely have spent several more days there and been happy.  However, we were able to cover a lot of ground while there—we visited Munich Residenz, Nymphenburg Palace, and the Spielzeug Museum (toy museum).

We meandered through the Viktualienmarkt, made a very long trek through the city looking for the München Paulener Brewery (to no avail—sorry Big H), toured the city on bike, watched the shitty Glockenspiel spectacle in the square (Steve-O’s words, not mine), and had a beer at the Hofbräuhaus (definitely not all it’s cracked up to be) and was told by the waitress that the price did not include tip—while she rudely waited at the table until I was able to produce the tip.

But of all the places that we visited there, the Viktualienmarkt was my favorite.  The market was located steps from our hotel room, and you could find anything from fresh vegetables, cheese, breads, flowers, and meats (even horse) to homemade jams, sandwiches, and crafts.  I could have spent the entire day just browsing through the stalls.  And eating—only not the horse meat.

Are your eyes bleeding yet?  I’ll post the remaining list on Monday.  I swear, people.  I already have it written!

Auf wiedersehen for now!